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THE DIVINE PLAYBOOK IS OPEN - GLOBAL PROPHETIC WORD 8.18.24
A week ago, I had a profound dream—one of the many audible dreams I often have. In this dream, I heard a phrase: "I'm opening the divine playbook!"
We know what a playbook is in sports—a strategy book where a team devises particular moves and strategies to counteract the other team and figure out how to get the ball. I believe this speaks to what is happening globally right now. We can see the enemy's play overtly and obviously, but what about God's playbook?
We are in a moment where the divine playbook is opened up. In Psalm 2, you see an interesting dialogue of actions and plays.
Let's look at verses 1-6:
Act I – The Nations Speak
- How dare the nations plan a rebellion.
their foolish plots are futile!
- Look at how the power brokers of the world
Rise up to hold their summit
- As the ruler's scheme and confer together
against Yahweh and His Anointed King, saying: "Let's come together and break away from the Creator. Once and for all let's cast off these controlling chains of God and His Christ!"
Act II – God Speaks
- God-Enthroned merely laughs at them;
the Sovereign One mocks their madness!
- Then, with the fierceness of His fiery anger,
He settles the issue and terrifies them to death with these words:
- "I myself have poured out My King on Zion, My holy mountain."
Can you see the two playbooks in action? For years, we have seen the enemy's plays in the news, media, church, and every facet of society.
We see the antichrist agenda that is working against America, using elites and people in power who feel they have the upper hand, even acting like gods.
There's been a direct move against Christianity in the last 60 years, where we've seen the Ten Commandments removed from schools, and demonic narratives and ideologies have spread throughout schools, culture, family life, and issues of gender.
It's preached loudly and has even caused the church to feel inadequate and powerless, but we are about to see the divine playbook open up on a global scale!
We know that at the end of the playbook, God wins. From now until that final victory when Jesus returns, we're going to see this divine playbook open up in supernatural ways.
FROM DIVINE OPPOSITION TO DIVINE OPPORTUNITY
As I was reflecting on the playbook dream, I heard, "As I open up the scroll, you will move from divine opposition to divine opportunity!"
In 2020, we saw the global rise of the epoch of divine opposition. While God was not the author of it—this was the enemy's playbook in full display—God allowed the church to face these challenges because we had become comfortable, compromised, and lost our fire.
Now, we are transitioning from divine opposition into divine opportunity. The church is awakening and realizing that action is required—there needs to be a pushback, a fight. In this hour of deep desperation, the church is no longer clinging to its comforts or its safety.
The church's ears are now open to hear the true word of the Lord, whereas they were closed in 2020.
You would think that a pandemic would have driven the church to the feet of Jesus, but instead, it drove much of the church deeper into the swirl of culture. So, God needed to allow the church to be shaken so that who she really was could come forth.
That's why we've seen shakings, empires falling, and people being exposed—because God has used this season of divine opposition to reposition the church.
He has taken the keys and authority in regions from leaders who have not stewarded them well and has given them to those with a heart like David. We have started the shift from a Saul kingdom to a David kingdom.
God is restoring the fallen altar of the church so that we can actually be the church that shines amidst all the demonic propaganda trying to steal our nation, our kids, and our families. That is what God is doing right now as we enter this season of divine opportunity.
It's easy to look at what's happening in the world—the financial system crashing, looming famine, the potential for another pandemic—and begin to prophesy through fear, but that hasn't served us well in the past.
We need to be like the sons of Issachar, who not only understood the times but also knew what to do with that knowledge.
"Of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
They had the insight to recognize the times they were living in and implement the right strategies and solutions to counteract the enemy and initiate God's plans.
With this season of divine opportunity before us, we need to do the same without hiding under a rock or denying the negative realities.
Right now, we need to decide whether we will look through the eyes of fear, bury our heads in the sand, try to stay comfortable, or tap into the redemptive plan of the Lord.
Let me say it again: This is not a moment to hide; it's a moment of divine opportunity. The church is shifting into a place of being a voice in the nations, rising up to be influential and speaking into situations to see shifts in crucial areas.
In this next season, you'll see key players arise. We don't need just to tell the news—we can all read the news. You don't have to be prophetic to react to the news; that's not prophetic. What's prophetic is being able to look at the times, tap into the heart of God, and ask, "God, what are you doing right now in this hour?"
THE CLEANSING & PURGING
We're in a days-of-Elijah moment, like when Elijah went to Mount Carmel for a showdown, which was actually an intercessory moment and a cleansing.
If you look at that moment as a cleansing, you'll recognize that the prophets of Baal were, in many ways, like a church that has not been in a relationship with God but has been in bed with culture. God used that moment to cleanse the church and the land of what was defiled so that the drought could break and the rain could come.
Right now, if we're looking correctly at this moment, we can see that the nation of America turning back to God involves breaking the agreements we've made through our compromise and restoring what has been broken down.
Just as Roe v. Wade set in motion a curse over the land, God has been raising up a people for many years who would tear down that altar and covenant so that we could enter back into the fullness of what the nation was meant to be.
Christy and I believe our calling here in America is to see not just the fall of Goliath, which we believe Roe v. Wade represented, but also to see Goliath's brothers chased out of the land. What happens in America influences Australia, which is why we know our calling here is significant. We have definitely shifted into a season of divine opportunity.
For the body of Christ, this means engaging. We need to stop pandering to culture and the fear of man and shift into a place of being a voice and an influence.
This really comes down to shaking off the fear of man and being the voices God has called us to be. We are entering times where it may feel like persecution, but I believe the days of being secret or hidden justice fighters are over. We have to rise up and be the voices that God has called us to be.
THE DAYS OF REVEALING
The message of the hour is that we are entering the days of the REVEALING of the true church.
While many are looking at the end times as this apocalyptic Armageddon, the word apocalypse actually means "the revealing." So regardless of what the enemy's playbook is, God's playbook is going to only shine brighter and reveal Himself in the earth.
Yes, we are stepping into the days of the great revealing of the church.
The revealing of the pure bride and the revealing of the promiscuous bride.
After many years of intense fire and warfare, we are truly entering days of greater glory. I saw it as no coincidence that I had this dream on 8:18:
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
We are entering a shift of power! The enemy has felt like he has usurped the church of power, but now we are entering the days of the power-packed church arising!
It's time for a Pentecost-proportioned move of the Spirit where we leave our earthly wisdom and achievements behind and surrender to the Spirit once again.
HEAVEN'S NEWSCAST
In this hour of divine opportunity, we need to focus less on what the enemy is doing and tap into the newscast of heaven.
It's not that we shouldn't talk about what is happening in the world—we definitely should—but what gets more airtime: the enemy's agenda or what God is doing?
The opportunity is this: just as Joseph was brought from obscurity before Pharaoh to save a nation, God is raising up and revealing His church in all metrons and societal spheres on earth.
We need to be engaged in policies and government and not bury our heads in the sand.
We need to pray for the revelation of the church and for Christians to rise up in areas of influence so we can see God's redemptive plan in His divine playbook revealed.
There are divine opportunities for the body of Christ right now to be revealed where the enemy is wreaking the most havoc so we can see a take-back and a shift of power.
That's what I believe God is doing—there are going to be some supernatural shifts in the coming years, accompanied by incredible tension.
We need to tell the body of Christ that this tension will be between demonic darkness spreading in certain areas and the revealing of God's plan simultaneously.
There will be wars, shakings, natural disasters, and financial issues, but if we only focus on those things, we will only see the deep darkness spreading over the earth.
God wants us to focus on His redemptive plan in His divine playbook.
I have more specifics to share from this encounter, but for now, know that God's plans are about to be seen globally through you and me!
Over the next year, God is going to pour out dreams and strategies, blueprints, and wisdom to those who ask for it.
He is going to bring you before kings with the word of the Lord to shift power regionally and nationally.
He is handing out keys of authority to take back what has been compromised and broken.
And He is giving you a voice and a zeal to see your nation and the nations of the earth return to God and chase the giants out of the land!
RELATED prophetic WORDS:
RELATED prophetic WORDS:
By Nate Johnston
•
December 19, 2024
Next year is going to be an Acts 2 Year because we’re going back to simplicity. We’re leaving behind the hustle and bustle of institutions and empires for the basics once again. We’re choosing the humble over the proud and lofty. We’re choosing the private over the public stage. We’re choosing connection over club mentality or even shallow community. We’re choosing fellowship over programs. We’re choosing true worship over performance. We’re choosing the nameless and faceless over celebrity Christianity. And we’re choosing the pure over the convoluted and tainted. This is going to be an Acts 2 year because God is rebuilding our definition of the church, and He’s rebuilding us in the process. We’re coming back to the true foundations of the church again. We’re coming back to the simplicity and power of the fivefold, where people are built up into who God has called them to be. We’re going to see the breakdown of man’s hierarchies and systems. We’re coming back to the simple foundation of people gathering not around a man, but around Jesus and the finished work of the cross. We’re coming back to signs, wonders, and miracles again. We’re coming back to daily salvations and the pursuit of souls instead of preaching to the choir. We’re coming back to baptisms and lives being transformed, rescued from darkness and addiction. We’re coming back to being the hospital church again, instead of a museum or a palace. We’re coming back to what looks small and insignificant but carries immense weight in the spirit. We’re coming back to experiencing His face and His glory once again, instead of simply coming to a service to hear a cool cliché quote to take home. We’re leaving behind the goosebumps of man’s religion and trading them for true encounters and visitations with God. So, this next year, watch as God leads you in a new direction. Watch as your appetites begin to change. Watch as the Lord leads you away from systems and places that look good on the outside but have brought you into bondage. For many, this will mean breaking away from what you’ve been part of for years. It may mean relocation. Shifting. Migrating. It may mean leaving behind compromises, false coverings, and shallow accountability in communities that resemble but are far from the Acts 2 church God has destined for you. It will mean stepping out of isolation to find the people God has for you. It will mean leaving behind dead works and performance to discover the fire of His Spirit and a fresh baptism that overhauls your life. And it will mean closing the door on Act 1 so that we, as the church, can step into Acts 2—a season of power and baptism in the Holy Spirit that empowers us to walk in the fullness of everything Jesus made available to us at the cross. It’s going to be a year of departing from the flesh and man’s pursuit of building Babel and stepping into a year of building what looks simple but reaps eternal fruit. It’s going to transform your family, marriages, and every area of your life as you realign with God’s purpose and His original blueprint for the church. Watch, friends, as we leave behind decades, even centuries, of dysfunction and as the Lord begins to build His house. This is why you have felt the discontent in the last few years that has grown inside you. It’s the desire to go back to the original plan. It’s the longing for true connection with God and His people. And build something pure and not of man’s hands. If this is you, pray this dangerous prayer with me “Lord do Acts 2 in my life in 2025 onwards in Jesus name! And lead me to my Acts 2 people!” “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” Acts 2:42-47
By Nate Johnston
•
December 17, 2024
(REPOST FROM DEC. 2020 - PROPHETIC WORD FOR NOW) Towards the end of November, I had a significant dream where God spoke to me about the power of the posture of rest as we crossover into 2021. I had been asking God for specifics regarding many areas of our own family life, ministry, and dreams and was needing some clarity. At the time we were finishing up a very busy and fruitful year in our ministry school, finalizing writing for future projects, and preparing for our baby that is due early January. I felt like I needed practical strategies to navigate some areas of life and I needed some pieces to drop to be able to know how to move forward in the new year. Have you felt this way? I want to share what God spoke to me regarding rest in this dream so that you crossover into 2021 refreshed, full of vision and purpose, decluttered, and knowing where you are going in Jesus' name! OFF THE HAMSTER WHEEL & OUT OF THE DRIVER SEAT “Enter my rest, enter my rest, you need to enter my rest!” I heard audibly as I slept and I knew this was not just an order but a warning from the Lord and a powerful strategy to escape the burnout, disillusion, and panic that can set in when you are walking through a season of conflict like this year has been. His words felt like a cool drink on a hot day. So many have been on the hamster wheel of life in 2020, running, running, running, and treading water just to stay afloat because of the many changes and curveballs that have come, but now God is saying to you that it is time to surrender that place to Him. Finish the year out of the driver seat and giving Him permission to end it well. Do you trust Him to do that? Can you move out of your strength and put your trust in His? What areas of your life are you still trying to hold onto the wheel? Let go and let Him do what only He can do. Key: Hand him the keys to your vehicle, ministry, purpose, and life, especially the areas you have been trying to push and strive in. MIRACLE WORKING POWER WHERE YOUR STRENGTH HAS FAILED “This is where I MOVE IN POWER as they rest!” I heard the Lord say. “If you lean into my rest I WILL DO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO! So enter my rest and let ME MOVE, let ME ORCHESTRATE, and let me DELIVER!” Is what the Lord continued to say. God wants to take over where you have been burning out trying to make ends meet and hoping to see that breakthrough, that miracle come to pass, and that promise manifested. This is where you rest and as you do you will see HIS power take over and BREAK THROUGH for you! Key: Rest in His miracle-working power where it feels like you are in the 11th hour. Will He not do it? THE TRANSITION INTO REST & THE CHANGE OF THE GUARD “It's the transitioning into rest and the changing of the guard” He continued to say, but it wasn’t an order of inaction or decommissioning but an order to change posture. In the same way that if you are swimming a long distance you change up your swimming style to preserve your strength God is saying “TRANSITION into rest” meaning “Change your stance!” In Hebrews 4:11 the rest spoken of had to be an intentional decision or move that resulted in God working where man's ways didn’t. The changing of the guard spoke to me of an army that was changing its position and right now I believe that God is calling the army of God to shift its formation. We will not be moved from our post, but now we turn, we set our sail. Like Nehemiah’s men, we continue to hold up our swords but we bow our heads. Now watch what He does as we shift. Key: Ask God what slight adjustments you can make to posture yourself in rest to receive and be refreshed? What areas of your life are unnecessarily wearing you down? REST WILL REVEAL WHERE YOU ARE SPREAD THIN & CREATE “CAPACITY” FOR THE UNEXPECTED This is what He spoke to me about next. Capacity. He said that heading into 2021 that He was looking for people that weren’t already too busy or had their hands too full because there were going to be UNEXPECTED opportunities and assignments that He would be giving. Posturing in rest was the key that would reveal areas where God was wanting to untangle you from, commitments you shouldn’t be involved in, and open up your schedule for new possibilities He had waiting for you as you crossed over. Key: Allow God to show you what carries His glory on it and what is just taking up space in your life. What are you doing that is good that isn’t God? He will show you. REFRESHING TO THE BURNT OUT AND FATIGUED & THE RE-IGNITION OF DREAMS Then He said “You can’t do this in survival mode. You can’t do this fighting for air, fighting for scraps, and scrambling to make ends meet” I knew that He was speaking to the subtle and seductive mentality of survival that is birthed from a traumatic year of hearing endless news stories and constant fear-mongering, and it has driven so many to the brink of burnout and fatigue. But as you rest God is breaking both the survival mentality and the fatigue that comes with it. He wants you to step out of the place of fear and begging for bread and back into faith so you can DREAM with Him as you crossover. Key: Ask him to break off the fatigue and reignite your creativity, innovation, and passion. HAND IN YOUR OLD JACKETS & I WILL BREAK THE HEAVY YOKES “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 “Watch me break your heavy yokes! Watch me shatter the mantles of madness that have tried to settle! For I am mantling you afresh in the rest! Hand me your old jackets and rags and let me replace them!” This year the enemy has tried to put his yokes of heaviness and hysteria upon believers causing them to chase after the wind and go on a wild goose chase. These yokes are demonic and are the counterfeit of true mantles and mandates. But as you rest watch as Holy Spirit breaks every heavy yoke and mantles you with power and purpose for the season ahead. Key: Give him your old rags. Give him your heavy yokes. Ask for discernment between what are the yokes of the enemy and the easy yoke of the Lord. What causes rest and peace, and what brings burnout and heaviness? That’s your key. THE SHADOW-BOXING WILL STOP IN THE VORTEX OF REST “The shadow-boxing must stop!” I heard Him say and in the dream, I saw a picture of a whirlwind of imaginations that were swirling around people and they were wearing themselves down by trying to fight it. Close your eyes in the next few weeks every day for a moment in His presence and the 10 fights and opponents you have been shadow-boxing will suddenly disappear. Every whirlwind and storm you have been facing will stand still and you will see it for what it really is. No hype or cheap gimmicks of fear. Key: Learn the art of the secret place again. Lay there and learn to be still even when the thoughts against your mind are warring. Soon they will be silent and you will get your peace back and enter that rest. RECEIVE THE NEW WINE ORDERS FROM HEAVENS PRINT PRESS & THE NEW DOWNLOADS There is something about the posture of rest in the presence that PRODUCES. In the next few weeks, God wants to give you “new wine orders” as he told me that will be fresh off the printing press of heaven orders that have not been seen or heard yet. Generals are going to receive their new orders.. leaders are going to download the blueprints for the thing that the SPIRIT is upon. The old wineskin won’t cut it and you know it so it’s time to RECEIVE and you can’t receive unless you are postured in rest, in ENCOUNTER. This is where you lay down like Jacob at Bethel and have the dream and lay down like Samuel and get your orders and the download that will shift the course of your family, your city, and nation. Key: Fight the temptation to be busy and realize that without the fresh download you are stuck. You need the fresh thing so rest to receive it. MISSING PIECES ARE GOING TO DROP & DOTS WILL CONNECT It’s a “strengthen yourself in the Lord” moment where God takes your faithfulness to stand and multiplies it and opens the way for the ANSWER to reveal itself, the missing pieces to drop, and the needed direction to appear. There are significant COMPONENTS & TOOLS that many need right now leading into 2021 to solve dire, 11th-hour decisions. As you rest God is making sure that EVERY missing piece drops and the mess and rubble you are walking through suddenly begin to make sense. This is where what has not been connecting suddenly starts to align and where there has been fogginess and no clarity you will start to see a clearing open up before you. Key: You can’t be a piece filler, trying to fabricate the piece that fills the gap because if you do it will eventually break down. REST and let the pieces come. RELOCATIONS, MIGRATIONS, & NEW ADDRESSES God told me that addresses and new cities would suddenly be shown to people in dreams and impressions for those who have felt like the season where they have been is over but they haven’t known the next step or place to go. There are mass relocations that are going to take place in January/February as God downloads new assignments and purpose that is attached to physical locations around the world. Your kids might even dream it. You might start randomly hearing a name, but it will come! In REST you will hear your change of address! Key: Don’t stress over the details. He knows where you need to be and He will make your transition and migration seamless. THIS IS WHERE OBSTACLES ARE EXPOSED & REMOVED This is where the things HIDDEN IN DARKNESS are exposed, as we rest, and war from our worship. This is why the enemy has tried so hard to get you into the hamster wheel.. so this would be in your strength and the miracle DID NOT SHOW UP. But as you rest the brick walls and endless obstacles you have been facing will be exposed and removed. You will suddenly see the weak spot, the open door, and the ways the enemy has been robbing you.. and you will SLAM THE DOOR SHUT! As you rest God is doing a spring clean and a protective reinforcement to make sure you are going into 2021 without the foxes robbing your vineyards . Key: Be open to see where the enemy has been robbing you. Adjust and shut doors that have been affecting you. It might be people, places, or even just things, but as you discern them you will make a clean break. IN REST, THE MONKEY WILL GET OFF YOUR BACK, THE SNAKES WILL RETREAT, & YOU WILL FIND THE SOLACE YOU HAVE LONGED FOR Lastly, I heard the Lord speak about “ALTITUDE” and I heard the scriptures; “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:6 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Revelation 4:1 God is saying that as you rest in HIM in heavenly places you will move into the altitude that snakes start to retreat and the monkey of warfare gets off your back. So many have been facing a myriad of warfare in 2020 and this is God's way of delivering you, freeing you, and healing you as you crossover. This is where you breathe in the clean and fresh air of hope and posture yourself back into the delight of the Lord where you will be able to see what is to come and be tethered once again to the glorious future ahead of you and not the dim and dark future the enemy has been prophesying. So people of God, REST! This is where it shifts. This is where the reinforcements come in. This is where the blueprints are made clear and the pathway opens up before you where you have been detailed and delayed. REST is your scepter and your powerful key so that you crossover READY & ROARING in Jesus' name!
By Nate Johnston
•
December 19, 2024
Next year is going to be an Acts 2 Year because we’re going back to simplicity. We’re leaving behind the hustle and bustle of institutions and empires for the basics once again. We’re choosing the humble over the proud and lofty. We’re choosing the private over the public stage. We’re choosing connection over club mentality or even shallow community. We’re choosing fellowship over programs. We’re choosing true worship over performance. We’re choosing the nameless and faceless over celebrity Christianity. And we’re choosing the pure over the convoluted and tainted. This is going to be an Acts 2 year because God is rebuilding our definition of the church, and He’s rebuilding us in the process. We’re coming back to the true foundations of the church again. We’re coming back to the simplicity and power of the fivefold, where people are built up into who God has called them to be. We’re going to see the breakdown of man’s hierarchies and systems. We’re coming back to the simple foundation of people gathering not around a man, but around Jesus and the finished work of the cross. We’re coming back to signs, wonders, and miracles again. We’re coming back to daily salvations and the pursuit of souls instead of preaching to the choir. We’re coming back to baptisms and lives being transformed, rescued from darkness and addiction. We’re coming back to being the hospital church again, instead of a museum or a palace. We’re coming back to what looks small and insignificant but carries immense weight in the spirit. We’re coming back to experiencing His face and His glory once again, instead of simply coming to a service to hear a cool cliché quote to take home. We’re leaving behind the goosebumps of man’s religion and trading them for true encounters and visitations with God. So, this next year, watch as God leads you in a new direction. Watch as your appetites begin to change. Watch as the Lord leads you away from systems and places that look good on the outside but have brought you into bondage. For many, this will mean breaking away from what you’ve been part of for years. It may mean relocation. Shifting. Migrating. It may mean leaving behind compromises, false coverings, and shallow accountability in communities that resemble but are far from the Acts 2 church God has destined for you. It will mean stepping out of isolation to find the people God has for you. It will mean leaving behind dead works and performance to discover the fire of His Spirit and a fresh baptism that overhauls your life. And it will mean closing the door on Act 1 so that we, as the church, can step into Acts 2—a season of power and baptism in the Holy Spirit that empowers us to walk in the fullness of everything Jesus made available to us at the cross. It’s going to be a year of departing from the flesh and man’s pursuit of building Babel and stepping into a year of building what looks simple but reaps eternal fruit. It’s going to transform your family, marriages, and every area of your life as you realign with God’s purpose and His original blueprint for the church. Watch, friends, as we leave behind decades, even centuries, of dysfunction and as the Lord begins to build His house. This is why you have felt the discontent in the last few years that has grown inside you. It’s the desire to go back to the original plan. It’s the longing for true connection with God and His people. And build something pure and not of man’s hands. If this is you, pray this dangerous prayer with me “Lord do Acts 2 in my life in 2025 onwards in Jesus name! And lead me to my Acts 2 people!” “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” Acts 2:42-47
By Nate Johnston
•
December 17, 2024
(REPOST FROM DEC. 2020 - PROPHETIC WORD FOR NOW) Towards the end of November, I had a significant dream where God spoke to me about the power of the posture of rest as we crossover into 2021. I had been asking God for specifics regarding many areas of our own family life, ministry, and dreams and was needing some clarity. At the time we were finishing up a very busy and fruitful year in our ministry school, finalizing writing for future projects, and preparing for our baby that is due early January. I felt like I needed practical strategies to navigate some areas of life and I needed some pieces to drop to be able to know how to move forward in the new year. Have you felt this way? I want to share what God spoke to me regarding rest in this dream so that you crossover into 2021 refreshed, full of vision and purpose, decluttered, and knowing where you are going in Jesus' name! OFF THE HAMSTER WHEEL & OUT OF THE DRIVER SEAT “Enter my rest, enter my rest, you need to enter my rest!” I heard audibly as I slept and I knew this was not just an order but a warning from the Lord and a powerful strategy to escape the burnout, disillusion, and panic that can set in when you are walking through a season of conflict like this year has been. His words felt like a cool drink on a hot day. So many have been on the hamster wheel of life in 2020, running, running, running, and treading water just to stay afloat because of the many changes and curveballs that have come, but now God is saying to you that it is time to surrender that place to Him. Finish the year out of the driver seat and giving Him permission to end it well. Do you trust Him to do that? Can you move out of your strength and put your trust in His? What areas of your life are you still trying to hold onto the wheel? Let go and let Him do what only He can do. Key: Hand him the keys to your vehicle, ministry, purpose, and life, especially the areas you have been trying to push and strive in. MIRACLE WORKING POWER WHERE YOUR STRENGTH HAS FAILED “This is where I MOVE IN POWER as they rest!” I heard the Lord say. “If you lean into my rest I WILL DO WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO! So enter my rest and let ME MOVE, let ME ORCHESTRATE, and let me DELIVER!” Is what the Lord continued to say. God wants to take over where you have been burning out trying to make ends meet and hoping to see that breakthrough, that miracle come to pass, and that promise manifested. This is where you rest and as you do you will see HIS power take over and BREAK THROUGH for you! Key: Rest in His miracle-working power where it feels like you are in the 11th hour. Will He not do it? THE TRANSITION INTO REST & THE CHANGE OF THE GUARD “It's the transitioning into rest and the changing of the guard” He continued to say, but it wasn’t an order of inaction or decommissioning but an order to change posture. In the same way that if you are swimming a long distance you change up your swimming style to preserve your strength God is saying “TRANSITION into rest” meaning “Change your stance!” In Hebrews 4:11 the rest spoken of had to be an intentional decision or move that resulted in God working where man's ways didn’t. The changing of the guard spoke to me of an army that was changing its position and right now I believe that God is calling the army of God to shift its formation. We will not be moved from our post, but now we turn, we set our sail. Like Nehemiah’s men, we continue to hold up our swords but we bow our heads. Now watch what He does as we shift. Key: Ask God what slight adjustments you can make to posture yourself in rest to receive and be refreshed? What areas of your life are unnecessarily wearing you down? REST WILL REVEAL WHERE YOU ARE SPREAD THIN & CREATE “CAPACITY” FOR THE UNEXPECTED This is what He spoke to me about next. Capacity. He said that heading into 2021 that He was looking for people that weren’t already too busy or had their hands too full because there were going to be UNEXPECTED opportunities and assignments that He would be giving. Posturing in rest was the key that would reveal areas where God was wanting to untangle you from, commitments you shouldn’t be involved in, and open up your schedule for new possibilities He had waiting for you as you crossed over. Key: Allow God to show you what carries His glory on it and what is just taking up space in your life. What are you doing that is good that isn’t God? He will show you. REFRESHING TO THE BURNT OUT AND FATIGUED & THE RE-IGNITION OF DREAMS Then He said “You can’t do this in survival mode. You can’t do this fighting for air, fighting for scraps, and scrambling to make ends meet” I knew that He was speaking to the subtle and seductive mentality of survival that is birthed from a traumatic year of hearing endless news stories and constant fear-mongering, and it has driven so many to the brink of burnout and fatigue. But as you rest God is breaking both the survival mentality and the fatigue that comes with it. He wants you to step out of the place of fear and begging for bread and back into faith so you can DREAM with Him as you crossover. Key: Ask him to break off the fatigue and reignite your creativity, innovation, and passion. HAND IN YOUR OLD JACKETS & I WILL BREAK THE HEAVY YOKES “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 “Watch me break your heavy yokes! Watch me shatter the mantles of madness that have tried to settle! For I am mantling you afresh in the rest! Hand me your old jackets and rags and let me replace them!” This year the enemy has tried to put his yokes of heaviness and hysteria upon believers causing them to chase after the wind and go on a wild goose chase. These yokes are demonic and are the counterfeit of true mantles and mandates. But as you rest watch as Holy Spirit breaks every heavy yoke and mantles you with power and purpose for the season ahead. Key: Give him your old rags. Give him your heavy yokes. Ask for discernment between what are the yokes of the enemy and the easy yoke of the Lord. What causes rest and peace, and what brings burnout and heaviness? That’s your key. THE SHADOW-BOXING WILL STOP IN THE VORTEX OF REST “The shadow-boxing must stop!” I heard Him say and in the dream, I saw a picture of a whirlwind of imaginations that were swirling around people and they were wearing themselves down by trying to fight it. Close your eyes in the next few weeks every day for a moment in His presence and the 10 fights and opponents you have been shadow-boxing will suddenly disappear. Every whirlwind and storm you have been facing will stand still and you will see it for what it really is. No hype or cheap gimmicks of fear. Key: Learn the art of the secret place again. Lay there and learn to be still even when the thoughts against your mind are warring. Soon they will be silent and you will get your peace back and enter that rest. RECEIVE THE NEW WINE ORDERS FROM HEAVENS PRINT PRESS & THE NEW DOWNLOADS There is something about the posture of rest in the presence that PRODUCES. In the next few weeks, God wants to give you “new wine orders” as he told me that will be fresh off the printing press of heaven orders that have not been seen or heard yet. Generals are going to receive their new orders.. leaders are going to download the blueprints for the thing that the SPIRIT is upon. The old wineskin won’t cut it and you know it so it’s time to RECEIVE and you can’t receive unless you are postured in rest, in ENCOUNTER. This is where you lay down like Jacob at Bethel and have the dream and lay down like Samuel and get your orders and the download that will shift the course of your family, your city, and nation. Key: Fight the temptation to be busy and realize that without the fresh download you are stuck. You need the fresh thing so rest to receive it. MISSING PIECES ARE GOING TO DROP & DOTS WILL CONNECT It’s a “strengthen yourself in the Lord” moment where God takes your faithfulness to stand and multiplies it and opens the way for the ANSWER to reveal itself, the missing pieces to drop, and the needed direction to appear. There are significant COMPONENTS & TOOLS that many need right now leading into 2021 to solve dire, 11th-hour decisions. As you rest God is making sure that EVERY missing piece drops and the mess and rubble you are walking through suddenly begin to make sense. This is where what has not been connecting suddenly starts to align and where there has been fogginess and no clarity you will start to see a clearing open up before you. Key: You can’t be a piece filler, trying to fabricate the piece that fills the gap because if you do it will eventually break down. REST and let the pieces come. RELOCATIONS, MIGRATIONS, & NEW ADDRESSES God told me that addresses and new cities would suddenly be shown to people in dreams and impressions for those who have felt like the season where they have been is over but they haven’t known the next step or place to go. There are mass relocations that are going to take place in January/February as God downloads new assignments and purpose that is attached to physical locations around the world. Your kids might even dream it. You might start randomly hearing a name, but it will come! In REST you will hear your change of address! Key: Don’t stress over the details. He knows where you need to be and He will make your transition and migration seamless. THIS IS WHERE OBSTACLES ARE EXPOSED & REMOVED This is where the things HIDDEN IN DARKNESS are exposed, as we rest, and war from our worship. This is why the enemy has tried so hard to get you into the hamster wheel.. so this would be in your strength and the miracle DID NOT SHOW UP. But as you rest the brick walls and endless obstacles you have been facing will be exposed and removed. You will suddenly see the weak spot, the open door, and the ways the enemy has been robbing you.. and you will SLAM THE DOOR SHUT! As you rest God is doing a spring clean and a protective reinforcement to make sure you are going into 2021 without the foxes robbing your vineyards . Key: Be open to see where the enemy has been robbing you. Adjust and shut doors that have been affecting you. It might be people, places, or even just things, but as you discern them you will make a clean break. IN REST, THE MONKEY WILL GET OFF YOUR BACK, THE SNAKES WILL RETREAT, & YOU WILL FIND THE SOLACE YOU HAVE LONGED FOR Lastly, I heard the Lord speak about “ALTITUDE” and I heard the scriptures; “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:6 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Revelation 4:1 God is saying that as you rest in HIM in heavenly places you will move into the altitude that snakes start to retreat and the monkey of warfare gets off your back. So many have been facing a myriad of warfare in 2020 and this is God's way of delivering you, freeing you, and healing you as you crossover. This is where you breathe in the clean and fresh air of hope and posture yourself back into the delight of the Lord where you will be able to see what is to come and be tethered once again to the glorious future ahead of you and not the dim and dark future the enemy has been prophesying. So people of God, REST! This is where it shifts. This is where the reinforcements come in. This is where the blueprints are made clear and the pathway opens up before you where you have been detailed and delayed. REST is your scepter and your powerful key so that you crossover READY & ROARING in Jesus' name!
By Nate Johnston
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December 12, 2024
For about a month now, I keep dreaming of the Lord saying to me audibly to detox. At first, I thought it was a personal instruction from the Lord but as I’ve been dreaming more and more about this, I’ve recognized this is what the Lord is really wanting us all to focus on leading into 2025. Because we have been caught up in so much in the last 4 years that has muddied the waters of our lives and callings. There’s spiritual toxins and parasites that need to be flushed out right now. There’s been flies in the ointment that God wants to clean out. Coming to the end of this chapter for many has felt like staggering to the finish line, worn out, burnt out, disillusioned, and flat-lining. You feel depleted.. The battles of the season has been costly, and the casualty of war is that you are carrying scars and toxins you don’t quite know how to shake. The other word the Lord keeps saying to me clearly over the body of Christ is that we need to UNTANGLE. The Lord was showing me that so many in the body of Christ have become entangled in so many issues and dramas and taken on so many burdens in the last four years. They’ve become entangled to the point of bondage in many areas that God never intended for them to be. It’s stolen your gaze and focus. It’s choked the life out of you and bled you dry. This may come in the form of the wrong relationships or the wrong dynamics in relationships, or it might be areas of wrong covering or involvements. It might be where the enemy has led you on the wrong path, on a diversion, and you’re currently living in an Ishmael reality. Or it might be even spiritually, where there’s become an entanglement in your life, in disappointment, hope deferred, or even areas of compromise and addiction. These are things that are causing you to be in bondage when God wants you to be set free. As I was praying into this, I just kept seeing this clear vision of a man being untangled from grave bandages until he was completely freed. It reminded me of Lazarus coming out of the tomb and untangling himself from the grave clothes. That’s what I’m seeing right now - it’s like the body of Christ is being untangled from every single demonic entanglement that we have allowed over the years. This is what the body of Christ at large is going through right now, where God is untangling the church from so much religion, witchcraft, slander, and Jezebel oppression that has become normalized and is choking the life out of the church. This is what you and I are experiencing - the tension right now between that bondage we’ve been feeling, that intense heaviness, and the new day dawning and the realization that we can no longer keep living with the heaviness and burden we’ve been carrying. It’s choking the life out of us, and choking our voices. It’s brought so much confusion to us. But the Lord is setting us free right now. The difficulty is that many are in burnout in a time where we need make the effort to shake some things off. But there’s a struggle and a lingering defeat. You know that God’s been leading you to freedom, but there feels like there’s just not the will or the strength to lean into it. But let God shake you free right now as you simply crash land in His presence. I felt the Lord saying to begin now, leading into 2025: untangle in His presence. Get on your face. Lay on your back. And ask Him to detox and untangle you. It means surrendering to the process of being untangled, healed, and delivered. And He will do it. It means leaning into Him and allowing Him to begin to break the yokes of bondage that have placed you in a place of burden for a long time. As I was in worship last night, I kept seeing this vision of Psalm 23:5: “He anoints my head with oil. He seats me at a table in front of my enemies.” It hit me so hard because the way I was seeing it was like the Lord pouring gallons and gallons of oil upon your head. It wasn’t just a little religious smidge of oil, it was a gushing out. It was a washing. It was a cleansing like the man healed of leprosy who said “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40) It’s the oil that breaks the yoke, the fatness as Isaiah 10:27 says. I decree over you that in the next month there will be a breaking of yokes and an untangling of everything that has been holding you back. The Lord will begin to detox you from pain, from trauma, from hope deferred, from so many spiritual toxins. These toxins have been working against you, poisoning your vision, poisoning your flow, poisoning your direction, and bringing confusion will be flushed out in Jesus name and you will get a fresh wind and a deep reviving of where you have felt like you have lost yourself and died. There is so much the Lord is wanting to untangle, In fact, He gives you permission today to untangle from the noise of culture and the drama of the church and to begin focusing on His face again. As you do, you will step into 2025 with fresh vision, full of hope, joy, and purpose for what He has called you to.
By Nate Johnston
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December 11, 2024
I will be sharing a few different words for 2025 in the next few weeks in smaller pieces that will help give language to what God is doing, where we are going, and the process we are walking out. I recognize that I see in part, and so I humbly present what I believe God is showing me for you to determine if it aligns with your inner witness and with the Word. The first word I want to share is about the global and personal impact of the season where God is dismantling and rebuilding us. DEMOLITION & THE BLANK CANVAS Have you felt the internal shaking? Growing up, my father worked in the mines, setting up the infrastructure for the mining companies and then breaking it all down once they were done and moving to a new location. We tend to think of seasons where things that once worked and no longer do, as a bad thing, but it’s simply the effects of the ark moving and the Lord breaking down the old infrastructure for the new move of His Spirit. We have felt the repercussions of this personally and globally. Over the last four years, there has been a window of mercy to let Him demolish what is no longer working. In many ways, the church has become reliant on the infrastructure of man’s methods, and the Lord, in His mercy, has allowed us to see how they no longer “mine for gold” in the way that is now available. He has allowed us to see the frailty and limitations of our own methods so we can let them go and let Him build His house. We’ve seen this in mainstream churches and ministry empires, too, where it feels like many are running on the charisma and sales tactics of man. God has been inviting them to lay everything down to follow Him. When that doesn’t happen, demolition begins. Things start to fall apart because the grace is no longer there to continue in dysfunction, compromise, or man’s agenda. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). In the midst of what is breaking down, God is building His house. This is what we are seeing right now: the tension of two extremes. It reminds me of urban renewal - demolition alongside new construction. God is leveling strongholds and uprooting spiritual assignments that have plagued the church for too long (Jeremiah 1:10). Let me emphasize this: while it may feel messy, it’s the Lord’s mercy and His desire to see the church rebooted and rebirthed in purity. Here are the scriptures He gave me for this season: Exodus 20:25 – “If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.” The Lord is saying we can’t build anymore using our own methods and man-made tools. Leviticus 20:25 – “You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that crawls on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean.” This rebuilding involves separating the unclean from the clean. Numbers 20:25 – “Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor.” This speaks of a changing of the guard and moving out of the old order. DETOXING FROM MARA/MURKY WATERS I believe the Lord is saying over the body of Christ that we have been camping around Mara, the bitter waters, for too long. We must take the body of Christ to the sweet waters. That is our responsibility because we’ve been camping in compromise, where the waters have been muddied and murky, and it’s time to leave that place. We have a responsibility to transition to the place of purity, the sweet waters. I truly believe this is a picture of the church that is no longer compromised by culture and demonic influences, which we have allowed to have a seat at the table for far too long. I believe this is part of a divine detox that the body of Christ desperately needs to move into the place God is calling us. Over the next two years, we will face critical decisions: Will we surrender to this detoxification process, or will we continue pretending the murky waters are sweet and clear when they are not? THE PERSONAL RESET The personal word I want to release over you is that the Lord is resetting you right now back to your factory settings. The season you’ve been in has been one where you’ve acquired a lot of pain, trauma, and bondage, but the Lord is unyoking you from that past season. This is a personal dismantling. The Lord, in His grace, mercy, and great love for us, dismantles us so He can rebuild us. In the natural, this process may feel cruel, like things are falling apart. But what it really is is the Lord delivering us and bringing us back into the freedom and joy that He wants us to have in our calling. Picture yourself carrying a 100kg backpack on your back, constantly bent over by its weight. That is what I believe the body of Christ, as well as many individuals, have looked like: burdened by religion, Jezebel influences, demonic lies, and witchcraft. These have weighed us down and prevented us from walking in the purity of our calling. God is leading us into a reset - a detox from all of this. Understand that much of what is happening around you right now is not the enemy. Sometimes, when doors close and you’re removed from places or relationships, it’s not the enemy. God is freeing your hand and delivering you from these weights. God is rebuilding His Church - not the bricks and mortar, but His people. He is detoxing us from the things we’ve normalized and allowed within the church. At the same time, He’s rebuilding us from the inside out. Many of you have been faithful to your calling, but you cannot continue in the same way because you’ve been burnt out, disillusioned, and frustrated. You can no longer operate on empty. God wants you in overflow. So let Him reset and rebuild you as you go into 2025! REBUILD IN THE SECRET PLACE How? You reset in the secret place and by untangling from the drama of the public place. You reset by prioritizing your heart process and preparation over trying to build prematurely. It’s a blank canvas moment. But what we build will firstly be built in secret. On our faces. In the fear of the Lord. Not in boardrooms or planning committees but from the overflow of lives dedicated to prayer and fasting. And He will inhabit the praises of His people and the train of His robe will fill the temple once again. Not of buildings but in the hearts of his laid-down lovers. It’s a time of fresh consecration and visitation. As the Lord uproots so then He plants. As he turns the page, a new day begins. So this moment is holy, and an invitation to the original call as priests unto the Lord and being the empty cup.. so He can fill us once again. This process may feel overwhelming, but I encourage you: Look beyond it. Ask the Lord to show you what to release and what to carry into the next chapter. Let this hard reset bring you back to the simplicity of the Gospel and the joy of relationship with Jesus. Embrace the refining process, knowing it’s the mercy of God preparing His bride for her finest hour. IT’S TIME FOR ACT 2 So lastly, let me make this clear - we are leaving the era of the religious institution and stepping into a return to Acts 2, or “ACT 2” as I like to think of it. In act 1 mans ways prevailed and were championed, but now in the second act, the HOLY SPIRITS ways will come back to the forefront! This is a shift from man-made systems, traditions, and programs to a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led church rooted in devotion to God, unity among believers, and supernatural power. In this new era, the church will no longer rely on charisma, methods, or structures built by human hands. Instead, we will embrace the simplicity and purity of the Gospel, the centrality of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a call to lay aside the old ways of striving and performance and step into the freedom and joy of living as a true Acts 2 community, a people united, walking in God’s power, and carrying His presence into the world. This is where we are headed. The church is being recalibrated, realigned, and rebuilt according to God’s design. The old towers of man are being replaced by the humble and lowly move of God's nameless and faceless. Let us embrace this moment and surrender fully to the process, trusting that God is leading us back to His original blueprint.
